A FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE SONG IN YOUR HEART AND CAN SING IT BACK TO YOU WHEN YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THE WORDS.

My mates are certainly one of the most important things in my life... I think it's the same for most people. They make me happy, they get me drunk and they pick up the pieces when something breaks. And unlike your family, you get to choose your mates through out your life. I think I have literally fallen in love with all of my closest friends as soon as I've met them. All my best mates make me smile and laugh so much. Getting the euphoric giggles with a mate is one of the best things in the world. I can't begin to express how much I appreciate every single one of my friends. Right now I feel like I have a great bunch of friends around me, probably the best little bunch I've ever had and they all compliment each other perfectly. I love them so much inclusive of every single one of their bad points.  Every single one of my close friends are crucial. Some friends you pick up early and they apparently stay forever and some friends burn brightly in your immediate existence only to disappear as fast as they came. One thing that's clear is the older you get the less time you have for your friends and the less time they have for you. Our life's become overloaded with other commitments so although they are important unfortunately we can't spend all afternoon listening to each other sing down the phone or have a 8 hour whine over a wine. That's just one of life's harsh realities. My capacity to make new friends has reduced. Not only do I find it difficult to put my trust in new people from past experiences but as I've got older I've come to an almost sub-conscious decision to focus on keeping the TRUE friends I know I do have rather than making new mates for the sake of it. I think it's all about quality with friends rather than quantity. To enable myself to give my friends the amount of attention they deserve as well as everything else in my life is already difficult enough. If I don't see them for weeks it doesn't matter because I pick up where I left off the next time I see them. I truly love my friends, worship the ground they walk on and think they are absolutely beautiful. They contribute to making me happy in the most wonderful of ways and for that I will always be grateful.